Apprentice Housing Business Admin (Ref: POS000745 (Lifeline) / POS000733 (Housing Options))

The Job

Your role will be to support the Housing teams, Team Leaders and Team Managers with the day to day running of the busy office environment. For these posts you will be supported in gaining a good understanding of the specific team/service you are working in.

If you are looking for a career where you can make a real difference to others, we welcome an application from you and we are committed to supporting you throughout your apprenticeship with a dedicated mentor and additional training & development opportunities.

There is also the potential for you to secure long term employment with the Council upon completion of your qualification, and the ability to also apply for internal vacancies restricted to employees throughout your apprenticeship.

There are 2 X full time positions available for this 18 months Business Administrator apprenticeship programme. The posts available are across the following two teams within the Housing Service.

Housing Lifeline Team x 1

The Lifeline Team support vulnerable adults with varying degrees of need and capacity in a wide range of accommodation types/settings. These include Council, Extra Care, Housing Association, privately rented and privately owned.

Housing Options Team x 1

The Housing Options Team supports residents who are homeless or at risk of losing their home, helping them access advice, support, and safe housing solutions.

The Candidate

We are looking for someone who is up for the challenge of working within a complex and diverse organisation in a support role, and who can work alongside our busy team to deliver a range of services within Housing.

Being willing to learn and to take on new challenges is a must! To be successful, you don’t need extensive experience or higher level qualifications, but you must have GCSEs in English and Maths at

Grades A to C (Awarded pre 2017) or Grade 9 to 4 (awarded 2017 onhwards) or Functional Skills Level 2.

You must be patient, have a caring disposition, confident in use of IT systems and be able to communicate confidently both orally and in writing with a wide range of audiences. You must also have the ability to work within the boundaries of confidentiality and the guidelines of data protection to ensure that our customer’s information is protected.

If you are motivated, can resolve problems, and have some experience of being part of a team then this opportunity could be for you. Your experience can be from school, volunteering, or from other activities such as sports clubs or interest groups.

Please note if you are successful for the Housing Options Apprentice post we will undertake additional recruitment checks which will include a DBS Enhanced Check.

Apprenticeship Course Information

Should you be successful you would be expected to undertake and complete all components of the Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship through our training provider DBC - Learning & Skills.

For further details on the Business Administrator (Level 3) qualification please refer to Darlington BC - Customer service and administration

https://www.darlington.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/apprenticeships/apprenticeship-courses/customer-service-and-administration/

Eligibility to access funding for an Apprenticeship

A UK resident is eligible for funding if they have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for at least the previous 3 years on the first day of their apprenticeship and have permission from the UK government to live in the UK (not for educational purposes) or have obtained pre-settled or settled status under EUSS.

Further Information and Applying

For detailed information on the role, please refer to the attached Role Profile and Known Risks Form(s). Please ensure to outline in your personal statement in your online application how you meet the criteria.

For a further informal discussion and any queries around the role profile and jobs itself please contact the manager on the following details:

• John Moores, Lifeline Co-ordinator - 01325 405971 ([email protected])
• Suzanne Jenkinson, Housing Team Leader – Housing Options - 01325 406947 ([email protected])

Apprenticeship Pay

Please note how much apprentices are paid depends on their age and the stage of their apprenticeship.

- People aged 16-18 and those aged 19 or over who are in their first year of their apprenticeship will receive the national minimum wage for apprentices.

- People aged 19 an over who have completed the first year of their apprenticeship will receive the national minimum wage or national living wage rate for their age.

- Information about national minimum wage rates is available from the government https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

- Apprenticeships care leavers’ bursary - Apprentices aged 16 to 24 who are care leavers may be eligible for a £3,000 bursary. To learn more about the care leavers bursary please refer to the follolwing further information https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-bursary-for-care-leavers/apprenticeships-care-leavers-bursary-policy-summary

DBC Benefits

The rewards for working at Darlington Borough Council go beyond the salary you will receive; we have numerous additional benefits such as:

• 32 days Annual Leave, plus Bank Holidays, with option to purchase additional Annual Leave (pro-rata for part time working)
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme with option to make Additional Voluntary Contributions
• Flexi-time scheme
• Flexible working
• Generous Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave schemes
• Staff equality forums
• Access to a wide range of training, learning and development
• Physiotherapy service
• Confidential counselling service
• Great wellbeing offer
• Dolphin Centre Fit for Life Discounts
• Local and National retailer discounts
• Vivup employee benefit app and Lifestyle Savings
• Arriva Employee Travel Club

For the full range of benefits we offer, please see our Why work for us internet page, which also includes our Total Reward Booklet and Employee Benefit Video.

https://www.darlington.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers-1/why-work-for-us/

Find out further information about us and what it’s like to work for our great team by visiting the Jobs and Careers home page.

https://www.darlington.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/

General Information for Applicants

If you have any further questions regarding applying for this role or the questions and required fields within the application form, please contact the HR Support team on 01325 403217 or [email protected].

If you are experiencing problems with the NE Jobs website, such as logging in, saving pages, on account queries please fill out the form within the link below.

https://www.northeastjobs.org.uk/contactus

All applicant email correspondence will come from [email protected] and may be directed to your Junk folder depending on the settings of your email account. Please check both your email and Junk folder as all applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted.

You must ensure that anything submitted in your application is factually accurate. Plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. Whilst we accept candidates may use AI tools within job applications; submissions must be truthful and relevant to your own experience.

We are an equal opportunities' employer. We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. We aim to interview any applicant who declares a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job.